Saturday, November 27, 2010

The last two weeks at my house have been C-R-A-Z-Y. My in-laws came to visit for several days before and after Thanksgiving. We're always so happy to have visitors, and it was great to spend that time with them. It was especially fun to throw a big Thanksgiving feast with them as guests of honor.

But it doesn't matter who the visitors are, visitors throw off my puttering time. And I must have my puttering time. What can I say, I'm a homebody. I have to have at least 3 days in the week where I just putter around my house, or else I start to lose my mind. It's okay if the other 4 days have me running willy-nilly over hill and vale, as long as I get those puttering days in, too. Trouble is, people on vacation don't want to putter, they want to get out and see things! Which I totally get.

Anywho, so I've been busy, the last couple of days, puttering around my house and my blog, catching up on all the things I don't do when I'm unable to putter. We had a really nice Thanksgiving, which I pretty much failed to capture on film, due to the fact that I was busy cleaning, cooking, serving, and cleaning. The Bionic Man could have snapped a few pics, but since we had no Engineering Feats or Natural Resources of Great Importance in attendance at our Thanksgiving Feast, that would be asking a lot.

What I did manage to get pictures of, ended up being one of my favorite things about this Thanksgiving: Our Thankful Tree.

Inspired by the Pothier's tree over at 71 Toes, we added a Thankful Tree to our own Thanksgiving traditions. Endeavor made ours, totally by herself, leaves and all. Don't you love the way she wrinkled the brown paper for a bark-like effect? I tell you, it's probably a good thing Martha Stewart is approaching retirement. Endeavor cut out many blank leaves, which we had our guests place on the branches of the tree, after they wrote down something they were thankful for.

I have loved having these expressions of gratitude on our kitchen wall. Some of the things our family members and friends who joined us for dinner were grateful for included:

showers

flowers

Hunter (our dog was mentioned on multiple leaves)

Church

Family

Friends

Corndogs (4 year old Mason really appreciates the finer things in life)

Tigers & Elephants

Good Doctors & Nurses

Parents

Freedom

Waterproof Shoes (two Mormon missionaries, Elders Huse and Huntsman, joined us for dessert)

We had such a nice time sharing dinner with Ben's parents and several other families. I just love the way everyone contributes to the feast: bringing family favorites of their own, sharing their favorite traditions, helping us make new ones, and taking the time to celebrate all of our blessings.

The Quote that Really Inspires Me:

"You may think you don’t have talents, but that is a false assumption, for we all have talents and gifts, every one of us. The bounds of creativity extend far beyond the limits of a canvas or a sheet of paper and do not require a brush, a pen, or the keys of a piano. Creation means bringing into existence something that did not exist before—colorful gardens, harmonious homes, family memories, flowing laughter. "What you create doesn’t have to be perfect. So what if the eggs are greasy or the toast is burned? Don’t let fear of failure discourage you. Don’t let the voice of critics paralyze you—whether that voice comes from the outside or the inside. "If you still feel incapable of creating, start small. Try to see how many smiles you can create, write a letter of appreciation, learn a new skill, identify a space and beautify it." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Happiness, Your Heritage"